How to properly define digital transformation objectives to optimize processes and boost efficiency

Digital transformation is not just adopting technology but a strategic process aimed at improving business processes, enhancing customer experience, and adapting to a rapidly changing digital environment. In this article, we look at the key goals companies face on the path to digital change.

For a business's digital transformation to be effective, simply setting objectives is not enough.

You need to know exactly which actions to perform at each stage to achieve the intended results.

All of them must be fixed in the DT strategic plan, which also sets out the key parameters — from deadlines to assessment criteria.

How clearly and correctly the digital transformation goals are formulated determines many things — for example, whether the company's employees will work in sync or fail to understand what is expected of them.

The main difference between a task and a goal is its focus on specifics. For example, a task can be stated as "implement a CRM system" or "convert the document archive to electronic format and store it on a cloud server." The goal these tasks serve, meanwhile, might sound like "optimize internal processes."

The first steps must be taken already at the planning stage.

First, the digital transformation strategy fixes its objectives — both final and intermediate.

Then you need to decide what must be done to achieve them.

Each specific action is a separate task.

A task can also be broken down into subtasks. Say, to start using a chatbot to help customers, you need to: choose off-the-shelf software or build it from scratch; compile a list of the most frequent questions and reasons for contact; assign answer options and dialogue flow algorithms; install and configure the software; test the chatbot's operation and fix any errors found.

Their list depends on how many steps are needed to achieve the result. Overall, the work is not just about defining them: tasks need to be monitored, results processed, and, if problems arise, cancelled or adjusted.

That is exactly why they have to be addressed not only during preparation but at the other stages of digital transformation too.

In some business sectors, DT is carried out to offer the target audience a new service that differs radically from the company's other products.

This is what happened, for example, with the world-famous Netflix service, which started as a video rental store and turned into the largest streaming platform.

Other notable examples: Yandex.Music.

Originally, the service offered only a subscription for listening to tracks.

After DT, its users could order taxi and carsharing services, search for products on the "Beru" marketplace, and much more without switching to other resources.

Previously it was a service for banking operations — payments, transfers, buying stocks and currencies.

Sber ID, where you can take out insurance, order food delivery, pay for courses, book a plane ticket, etc. Ozon.

It started as a bookstore and, after digital transformation, became a marketplace.

Customers could order not only books, but also electronics, food, clothing, accessories, etc. And later,

Ozon launched its own financial service, where you can take out installments, a credit card, a deposit, and more.

Launching new goods or services can require solving a wide range of tasks. Mandatory ones include, for example, market analysis, developing pilot projects or prototypes, connecting EDI, and automating part of the internal processes.

Additionally, it may require implementing various enterprise information systems, collecting Big Data, integrating AI solutions, and much more.

The choice of specific tasks depends on the product type, the state of the business, and the requirements for deadlines and budget.

If the company is very large or its structure is complex, the digital transformation includes a scaling stage.

Before that, it is run in a single branch or business area, and once results are achieved, it is rolled out across the entire corporation.

This requires bringing all processes to a single standard and regularly monitoring and assessing the results.

Key goals: setting unified standards for developing and deploying IT solutions; rolling out the DT framework across all industries and business units; setting up a center responsible for launching individual initiatives and running digital transformation across the company as a whole; creating metrics that show how successful the project turned out to be.

Errors in setting goals are one of the common problems in this area.

If tasks are stated vaguely or are not tied to specific goals, the digital transformation becomes confused and departments cannot work in a coordinated way. This, in turn, causes budget overruns and drags out the DT rollout.

Well-defined goals must meet several requirements: Clarity.

The wording must be highly specific ("implement a CRM system for the sales department"). Measurability.

The result must be measurable, whether qualitatively or quantitatively ("migrate at least 80% of the archive to the cloud"). Attainability. Both the goal itself and its deadline must be realistic ("deploy a voice assistant to handle initial customer requests within 3 months"). Relevance.

A planned action should help achieve a specific goal ("run a seminar on social engineering techniques so that employees learn to recognize cybersecurity threats and prevent them").

User focus. The goal should account for the needs of those it targets ("refine the ERP system interface so it becomes intuitive for employees"). Flexibility.

If it turns out that a task must be postponed or cancelled for some reason, this should not negatively affect the outcome of the whole DT ("testing the IT infrastructure with room for refinements").

Digital transformation will not succeed if you: confuse digital transformation goals with its objectives; formulate them vaguely; set no specific deadlines; fail to define who exactly should handle them; forget to convey the goal's meaning to staff; do not check whether all conditions for completion are in place; ignore problems that could affect the goal's outcome.

If you answer "yes" to even a couple of items on the list, your work with DT tasks needs to be reconsidered.

This helps identify weak points and prevent problems before they grow critical.

How correctly the digital transformation goals are set determines whether it will be painless for the business and its employees.

This also affects how long the project itself will take and whether it can stay within budget.

If you are not sure you understand DT tasks correctly, a consultation with professionals will help.